"Bernie," "The Master" and "Moonrise Kingdom" are among the films vying for top honors at this year's Gotham Independent Film Awards.
Shut out from the race for Best Feature were "Beasts of the Southern Wild" and "The Silver Linings Playbook," both of which have created a stir at major film festivals and are viewed as likely Oscars contenders. "Beasts" and "Silver Linings" both earned nods for their ensemble casts, while the former also picked up nominations for breakthrough director and actor for Benh Zeitlin and Quvenzhané Wallis, respectively.
The Gothams are the first major awards show of the season with the ceremony held on Nov. 26 at Cipriani Wall Street. In addition to the competitive awards, actors Marion Cotillard and Matt Damon, director David O. Russell, and Participant Media founder Jeff Skoll will each be presented with career tributes.
Previous contenders include 2011's "Beginner" and "Tree of Life," 2010's "Winter's Bone" and Kathryn Bigelow's 2009 Iraq War thriller "The Hurt Locker."
The nominations for the 2012 Gotham Independent Film Awards are:
Best Feature
"Bernie"
Richard Linklater, director; Richard Linklater, Ginger Sledge, Celine Rattray, Martin Shafer, Liz Glotzer, Matt Williams, David McFadzean, Judd Payne, Dete Meserve, producers (Millennium Entertainment)
"The Loneliest Planet"
Julia Loktev, director; Jay Van Hoy, Lars Knudsen, Helge Albers, Marie Therese Guirgis, producers (Sundance Selects)
"The Master"
Paul Thomas Anderson, director; Joanne Sellar, Daniel Lupi, Paul Thomas Anderson, Megan Ellison, producers (The Weinstein Company)
"Middle of Nowhere"
Ava DuVernay, director; Howard Barish, Ava DuVernay, Paul Garnes, producers (AFFRM and Participant Media)
"Moonrise Kingdom"
Wes Anderson, director; Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson, producers (Focus Features)
Best Documentary
"Detropia"
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, directors; Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, Craig Atkinson, producers (Loki Films)
"How to Survive a Plague"
David France, director; Howard Gertler, David France, producers (Sundance Selects)
"Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present"
Matthew Akers, director; Jeff Dupre, Maro Chermayeff, producers (HBO Documentary Films and Music Box Films)
"Room 237"
Rodney Ascher, director; Tim Kirk, producer (IFC Midnight)
"The Waiting Room"
Peter Nicks, director; Peter Nicks, Linda Davis, William B. Hirsch, producers (International Film Circuit)
Best Ensemble Performance
"Bernie"
Jack Black, Shirley MacLaine, Matthew McConaughey (Millennium Entertainment)
"Moonrise Kingdom"
Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban (Focus Features)
"Safety Not Guaranteed"
Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni, Jenica Bergere, Kristen Bell, Jeff Garlin, Mary Lynn Rajskub (Film District)
"Silver Linings Playbook"
Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, Anupam Kher (The Weinstein Company)
"Your Sister’s Sister"
Emily Blunt, Rosemarie Dewitt, Mark Duplass (IFC Films)
Breakthrough Director
Zal Batmanglij for "Sound of My Voice" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Brian M. Cassidy and Melanie Shatzky for "Francine" (Factory 25 and The Film Sales Company)
Jason Cortlund and Julia Halperin for "Now, Forager" (Argot Pictures)
Antonio Méndez Esparza for "Aquí y Allá (Here and There)" (Torch Films)
Benh Zeitlin for "Beasts of the Southern Wild" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Breakthrough Actor
Mike Birbiglia in "Sleepwalk with Me" (IFC Films)
Emayatzy Corinealdi in "Middle of Nowhere" (AFFRM and Participant Media)
Thure Lindhardt in "Keep the Lights On" (Music Box Films)
Melanie Lynskey in "Hello, I Must Be Going" (Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Quvenzhané Wallis in "Beasts of the Southern Wild" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)
Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You
"Kid-Thing"
David Zellner, director; Nathan Zellner, Producer
"An Oversimplification of Her Beauty"
Terence Nance, director; Terence Nance, Andrew Corkin, James Bartlett, producers
"Red Flag"
Alex Karpovsky, director; Alex Karpovsky, Michael Bowes, producers
"Sun Don’t Shine"
Amy Seimetz, director; Kim Sherman, Amy Seimetz, producers
"Tiger Tail in Blue"
Frank V. Ross, director; Adam Donaghey, Drew Durepos, producers
Alexander C. Kaufman contributed to this report.